Plumbing connection



July 3, 1923.

' M. J. SMITH PLUMBING CONNECTION Filed March Patented July 3, 1923.

MICHAEL 3'. SMITH, OF MOBBISTQWN, NEW JERSEY.

To all whom it may concern paratus, and has particular reference to means for making reliable sanitary connect1ons between receptacles and outlet plpes.

Among the objects of this invention is to provide a connection between devices that '15 are .more or less remote from one another,

that is not only sanitary and reliable, meetingall .demands of boards of health or the like, but one whichmay be put into practice with the utmost facility, requiring but a small fraction of the amount of time usually spent under the sold practice and no more than ordinary skill on the part of the workman or mechanic making the installation.

In my extensive experience in the plumbing business Ihave noted that in the practice of. connecting, for example, a closet bowl with a soil pipe, it is customary toemploy a heavy lead elbow, the term elbow being employed herein and in the practice to cover the main portion of the joint irrespective of its shape, whether angular, bent, or straight, and to make the connection with the bowl and with the soil pipe two special brass sleeves are required for the respective ends of the elbow, the connection between the elbow and the sleeves being effected by special fitting, swaging, and wiping. The lead pipe is very expensive, and, moreover, the time and skill required to make proper connection between the lead elbow and the sleeves add enormously to the cost of installation. It will be noted in this connection that not only is special care demanded in determining the exact measurements between the bowl and the center of the bend in the elbow on the one hand and the horizontal or lateral measurement between the same center and the soil pipe, but the wiping of the joints, especially when they must be wiped with the parts in place, is an exceedingly delicate one demanding the service of a plumber who is more than ordinarily skillful.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter Application filed March 31, 1921.

PLUMBING CONNECTION.

Serial No. $57,311.

described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or. suggestedxherein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference .is had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich like reference charactersdesignate the same drawings I show at 10 a receptacle, such as a closet bowl, having a neck 11 provided at its lower end with an outwardly projecting "flange or bead 12. At 13 I indicatewhat is ordinarily known in the practiceas a T-Y section of a soil pipe including a branch 14 having a horizontal axis 15, the branch be ing located in various jobs at varying distances horizontally from the vertical axis '16 of the neck 11 and also at varying distances vertically between the axis of the collar and the horizontal plane of the bead 12,the intersection of "the horizontal and vertical axes above indicated being represented at the point 17.

My improved elbow is indicated at '18 and consists ordinarily of hard metal such as brass and of a capacity in cross section equivalent to the usual expensive lead elbow above referred to. This elbow 18, irrespective of its specific shape, is manufactured and supplied on the market provided with externally threaded upper and lower ends 19 and 20, the threaded ends being long enough to meet all requirements as to vertical and horizontal distances from the point 17 of intersection of the axis lines or measurements above indicated. (lo-operating with the threaded end 19 is a flange 21, and with the threaded end 20 is a flange 22 constituting an abutment member: Each of these flanges is fitted to its portion of the elbow with an easy thread whereby the flange may be readily run along the thread to its desired position by hand.

In practice the elbow is projected upward through a hole 23 formed in the floor 24 to a proper distance to establish the ultimate length of the axis line 16, and the flange 21 is then run down to meet the floor or other suitable support. The end of the threaded portion 19, if projecting above the flange 21, is then removed, as by the use of a hack lllll saw, an operation that is easily and quickly performed by any ordinary workman. Thus the vertical length of the elbow is quickly and accurately determined. Likewise the workman may easily determine the horizontal length along the axis 15 for the lower portion 20 of the elbow. To accomplish this function the workman ordinarily will run the flange 22 inward toward the bend of the elbow preliminary to determining the ultimate length of the threaded end 20 which which will be projected eventually into the branch 14. Any surplus length oi this portion of the elbow is then removed as by a hack saw. The flange 22 is then run out flush with the end of the elbow which will be inserted with the flange 22 in place into the branch 14 to the required distance, the flange 22 ordinarily making contact with the inner wall or surface of the branch for at least two purposes,iirst to limit the distance the elbow may be projected into the T-Y without encroachment against the inner surface of the same, and secondly, to make a reliable abutment against which any suitable filler such as oakum 26 may be packed, the connection at this point being completed eventually by lead calking 27.

After the flange 21. is put in place supporting the elbow upon the floor 24 or the like the joint between the flange 21 and the elbow is preferably skimmed with a film of solder 28 or the like so as to prevent any possibl subsequent shifting in position of the flange 21. The beaded neck 11 of the bowl is then projected inside of the elbow, and any suitable mass of cement or filler,

protected permanent joint between the bowl and the elbow. The elbow connection is now completed in a simple, relatively cheap, and most expeditious manner, and, moreover, is such as to meet all sanitary requirements. Moreover, the structure of the elbow 18 is such that the connection is stronger and bet ter in all practical respects than the pre viously used lead elbow.

I claim:

As an article of manufacture for use in combination with a closet bowl having a neck and a soil pipe spaced therefrom at a variable but determinate distance both vertically and laterally, an elbow connection between the bowl and the soil ipe, said elbow connection comprising a rigid metal member havin its respective ends externally screw threaded from the ends for a considerable distance to adapt the effective lengths of the ends in practice according to the vertical and lateral distances aforesaid, a flange threaded upon the upper end of the elbow and serving as a vertical support therefor, and a. combined flange and abutment threaded upon the otherthreaded end of the elbow, said flange and abutment members being freely movable along their respective threaded parts according to the specific distances desired in any individual job and the surplus threaded ends being removable from the elbow.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

MICHAEL J. SMITH. 

